Dismountable Structural/Foundation System

ABSTRACT

This invention describes the means to disassemble and reassemble structural wall components for the rapid assembly, disassembly, and reassembly of buildings and related structures. The system consists of a high-strength bar and coupler system that may or may not be pre- or post-tensioned to a hyper-rigid foundation system that is comprised of fixed or mutable attachment points. The resulting dismountable structural/foundation system can be used with a wide range of traditional and non-traditional pre-assembled and assembled-on-site construction materials for both structural and non-structural wall sections. The system facilitates building reuse and less environmentally intensive processes for both temporary and permanent facilities.

The present invention relates generally to a dismountable structural/foundation system and more particularly to a new construction system that allows complete reusability of the structural aspects of the system with wide flexibility of member sizing and placement with no foundation system change. The present invention is highly environmentally friendly due to the reusable nature of the structural system, and it is extremely adaptable to residential, commercial and governmental construction needs. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Prior building systems include conventional “stick built” structures that may include a housing framework assembled on-site and erected onto a foundation prior to the assembly of wiring, plumbing, and other utilities into the walls. A major drawback of on-site “stick built” construction is that much time is required in assembling the building components on-site when the same parts could be assembled more efficiently elsewhere.

This drawback led to the advent of prefabricated building systems such as the well known type of modular building systems wherein the walls of a prefabricated building are typically pre-manufactured in a factory with the wiring, plumbing, insulation, etc. already installed. These preassembled components are then trucked to a building site having been previously prepared for efficient installation.

These prior prefabricated buildings and building components have typically been limited by two important considerations: (1) foundation settlement and (2) slab immutability. Both contribute to tight linkage between the design and construction of the foundation and superstructure, making reuse or reconfiguration of the structural elements of buildings difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. Collectively, these two problems prevent routine reuse of the foundation or reconfiguration of the structural elements of the building using modular construction techniques.

The best current practice for sustainable construction and reuse includes Open Building, deconstruction, and transformable structures. Open Building presents guidelines for a layered approach to reworking building systems within a fixed superstructure (Kendall, S., 1999, “Open Building: an approach to sustainable architecture.” J. Urban Technology, 6(3), 1-16). Deconstruction is a mixture of techniques for preserving building components during demolition for potential reuse in new structures (Chini, A. R., and Bruening, S. F., 2003, “Deconstruction and materials reuse in the United States.” Intl. E-Journal of Construction, 22 pages). Transformable structures refers to lightweight reconfigurable structures that can be deployed without use of a significant foundation system (Liapi, K., 2001, “Transformable structures: design features and preliminary investigation.” ASCE J. Architectural Engineering, 7(1), 13-17). Unfortunately, none of these techniques, provide for near complete reuse and reconfiguration of both the foundation and the superstructure. Indeed, they operate within the constraints imposed by foundation settlement and slab immutability. The present invention was developed to solve both of these impediments and permit environmentally conscious construction methods through the use of reusable construction materials.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The dismountable structural/foundation system of the present invention comprises a hyper-rigid foundation, at least one structural component, and at least one coupler that joins the hyper-rigid foundation and at least one structural component. The hyper-rigid foundation provides a stable platform for a wide variety of structural loads without inducing stress through differential settlement of the foundation. The coupler system allows for flexible mounting and dismounting of structural components. The combination of the hyper-rigid slab and coupler system for structural components effectively decouples the foundation from the superstructure, thereby allowing reconfiguration and reuse of the building structural system by design. It is expected the dismountable structural/foundation system will significantly augment existing techniques for reconfiguration of non-structural building systems, as well.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

Four (4) figures are shown depicting various aspects of the Dismountable Structural/Foundation System. FIG. 1 depicts an immutable, hyper-rigid slab with sample attachment points for the coupling between the foundation and (dismountable) superstructure. Note that the slab may contain numerous attachment points (preferably in a grid) to provide flexibility for reconfiguration of the superstructure. An alternate configuration of a mutable slab is show in FIG. 2, which depicts a rail system embedded in the hyper-rigid slab to provide greater flexibility in the positioning of couplers and hence in the configuration of the superstructure

FIGS. 3 and 4 depict respectively a pre-cast and hybrid wall system with coupler insets for connection to the slab. Alternative materials and wall configurations are possible, but each would share a common inset for the structural/foundation coupling system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The hyper-rigid foundation of the present invention may comprise a slab, raft, or mat and may be considered the sole foundation of the superstructure or may be considered the upper component of another foundation, in which case it acts as a giant pile cap (irrespective of the specific shallow or deep foundation system below). The hyper-rigid foundation may be pre-tensioned or post-tensioned and may further include openings therein for the ingress and egress of plumbing, electrical components, or other utilities.

The at least one structural component that makes up the structural superstructure that is attached to the foundation may be constructed of steel, pre-cast concrete, prefabricated masonry, or any other building material known presently known to those of skill in the art or later developed. The structure is designed to incorporate a threaded bar or rod or some other means of attachment as defined by the coupler that is attached to or embedded in the hyper-rigid foundation.

A system of at least one coupler that joins the superstructure to the hyper-rigid foundation is also present wherein the couplers can be arranged in a regular or irregular pattern and are configured to act as a nut or similar receiving structure for receiving a high strength threaded rod, such as a DYWIDAG® bar, or similar attachment elements known to those of skill in the art. The couplers may be rigidly affixed to the hyper-rigid foundation, such as through a cast-in-place method, or may be removably affixed in a decoupling manner to the hyper-rigid foundation, such as part of a moveable system that may involve bolting or clamping to objects rigidly affixed to or in the foundation. The coupler system may further include insets in the couplers to decrease aperture size and allow for size reduction to permit use of smaller attachment elements.

In a preferred embodiment of the system of the present invention, couplers will be cast rigidly in a grid pattern in the extremely rigid foundation slab. A superstructure component (pre-cast concrete walls, pre-fabricated masonry walls, etc.) would then be bolted directly to the couplers through the use of threaded bolts or may possibly incorporate a pipe-like slot in the wall through which a capped high strength threaded bar would slide and be attached to the couplers.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, a similar hyper-rigid foundation and superstructure would be provided, but the coupler system would be mounted removably to a rail system that is rigidly affixed to or embedded in the foundation. The coupler would be removably attached to the superstructure in a similar manner as described in the preferred embodiment (bolts, threaded bar, etc.), but the ability of the couplers to be attached and detached from the foundation in various arrangements (along rails, etc.) would allow further flexibility and expansion potential of the superstructures and the hyper-rigid foundations the superstructures are built upon.

A specific benefit of the use of the materials envisioned in the present invention includes the ability of the hyper-rigid foundation to be quickly and effectively coupled and decoupled from the above-lying superstructure. The use of the hyper-rigid foundation minimizes potential differential settlement and also allows preconstruction settlement to be intentionally generated prior to building construction, such as through the simple act of stacking the building materials directly on the foundation early in the project schedule. This minimization of differential settlement permits the tight tolerances needed for efficient assembly of prefabricated elements, because the slab settles very little and it does so monolithically, which facilities economy through off-site manufacturing and minimization of costly and time consuming on-site building inspections.

The decoupling nature of the present invention also promotes building component reuse due to the fact that all components can be disassembled and the dismountable structure can be reassembled with its same component parts or different ones in the same or different configuration. This component reuse is possible, even if the site is to be used for a much heavier structure later in its life cycle, because more substantially deep foundations could be installed early on in the project in anticipation of a lighter structure being replaced by a heavier structure at a later date.

Another benefit of creating a slab system that allows for a perpetual reconfiguration of load-bearing walls and elements is the ending of the cycle of structural arrangements being dictated by the foundation system. This is due to the fact that the hyper-rigidity of the present invention's foundation promotes substantially higher levels of stress redistribution, thus the point concentration location from the superstructure is no longer fully critical for the load transfer progression. As is apparent in prior art prefabricated building technology, the structural system cannot be randomly attached to a typical floor, because the loading would not necessarily transfer down to the foundation element, unless the load capacity of the floor was adequate and properly positioned, which would have to be pre-established, therefore limiting future changes or modifications to the structural system. The present invention solves this problem through the use of the hyper-rigid foundation wherein the exact placement of structural component(s) is not critical to the load transfer due to the design of the coupling system that decouples stress distribution of superstructure from the foundation.

It is anticipated that the dismountable structural/foundation system of the present invention could be used in seismic zones or other areas of high anticipated lateral loading due to the hyper-rigidity and post-tensioning capabilities of the foundation. This system would lend itself to temporary school buildings, emergency shelters, temporary and permanent housing, and any other structures that are desired to be strong and rigid, yet removable through minimal effort either in the short-term or the long-term. 

1. A dismountable structural system comprising: a. a hyper-rigid foundation; b. at least one coupler rigidly affixed to the hyper-rigid foundation; and c. at least one structural component removably attached to the at least one coupler.
 2. The dismountable structural system of claim 1 wherein the hyper-rigid foundation is pre-tensioned.
 3. The dismountable structure system of claim 1 wherein the hyper-rigid foundation is post-tensioned.
 4. The dismountable structural system of claim 1 wherein the hyper-rigid foundation further comprises openings defined therein for utility ingress and egress.
 5. The dismountable structural system of claim 1 wherein the at least one structural component is at least in part comprised of a steel component.
 6. The dismountable structural system of claim 1 wherein the at least one structural component is at least in part comprised of a precast or cast-in-place concrete component.
 7. The dismountable structural system of claim 1 wherein the at least one structural component is at least in part comprised of a prefabricated or built-in-place masonry component.
 8. The dismountable structural system of claim 1 wherein the at least one coupler is removably attached to the at least one structural component through a threaded rod system.
 9. A dismountable structural system comprising: a hyper-rigid foundation; at least one coupler removably affixed to the hyper-rigid foundation; and at least one structural component removably attached to the at least one coupler.
 10. The dismountable structure system of claim 9 wherein the hyper-rigid foundation is pre-tensioned.
 11. The dismountable structural system of claim 9 wherein the hyper-rigid foundation is post-tensioned.
 12. The dismountable structural system of claim 9 wherein the hyper-rigid foundation further comprises openings defined therein for utility ingress and egress.
 13. The dismountable structural system of claim 9 wherein the at least one structural component is at least in part comprised of a steel component.
 14. The dismountable structural system of claim 9 wherein the at least one structural component is at least in part comprised of a precast or cast-in-place concrete component.
 15. The dismountable structural system of claim 9 wherein the at least one structural component is a prefabricated or built-in-place masonry component.
 16. The dismountable structural system of claim 9 wherein the at least one coupler is removably attached to the at least one structural component through a threaded rod system. 